24.  End of Days part 1

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The two armies stood across from each other. Angel was grinning evilly, savouring the fight that was about to start, while Spike swallowed hard, breathing slowly in order to try and calm himself down

“This is it,” he thought, “The end of days. It’s finally here. It all comes down to this”

“So, what are the orders, sir?” Icarus asked

“Destroy them all,” Angel replied coldly

“Take them all down!” Icarus shouted to the Old Ones

They all roared and started heading towards the Slayers. Meanwhile, the trebuchets were all loaded, as the dragons breathed flames upon the boulders

“Fire!” Buffy ordered

The Slayers pulled hard on the ropes, letting the weights swing down and launched the flaming boulders through the air, sending them smashing into the Old Ones. Vampires and demons were crushed by the boulders, while several Old Ones were struck down. One pure demon punched a boulder back through the air, crushing a helicopter, as the other helicopters took off into the air. The dragons all roared and spread their wings, before taking to the skies with the helicopters

“Here goes,” Faith said as the vampires charged at them

“Cue the music,” Spike said

The dragons swooped down, colliding with the Old Ones, as the vampires and demons lunged at the Slayer. Lightning flashed, as gunfire rang out. Missiles and flaming boulders flew through the air, smashing into the Old Ones, as a few dragons fell, torn to pieces by two golem-like Old Ones

“Chliquet and Dahliquet,” Illyria said, noticing the golem twins

She swung her sword, decapitating a vampire, as a Gator demon lunged at her, but she dodged the claws, before drawing a dagger and stabbing it upwards into the Gator’s throat. Dropping the dead demon aside, Illyria deflected a blow from a Mohra demon, punching it in the face, then impaled it through the stomach, before stabbing a dagger into its jewel. It cried in pain, disappearing in a flash of light, as Illyria then spun around, her sword blade getting imbedded in a Polgara demon’s chest. She then sliced the demon’s chest open, as a large troll swung its beefy fist at her. Illyria ducked and slashed the troll’s thigh, then sliced the troll across its back. It roared and swung open, as Illyria ducked and impaled it through the chest. The troll roared as it fell back, as a vampire lunged at Illyria, only to get decapitated as she spun around and split a goblin’s head out. Green blood ran down the goblin’s face as Illyria removed her sword and moved on, slicing down a vampire, before coming face to face with Non

“Hey, cupcake,” Non grinned, before punching her

Spike dodged a Polgara demon’s skewer and sliced its head off, before whirling around and slicing a vampire in half. The vampire turned to dust, as the dragons flew overhead, breathing flames upon the Old Ones, as the helicopters flew around, raining bullets and missiles down upon the Old Ones. An Old One, one that looked like a massive human/lizard/worm hybrid roared and snatched a helicopter out of the air, before crushing it between its hands, then flicked its tail, sending several Slayers flying through the air, then smashed its palm to the ground, crushing three Pyleans at once. A flaming boulder slammed into the Old One’s chest, but it roared in anger and charged forth and smashed the trebuchet, as missiles slammed into its back, along with gunfire. Slayers attacked with their swords and crossbows, as the Old One roared and started flailing about. Three dragons dived, breathing flames on the pure demon, then attacking it with their fangs and claws, finally bringing the Old One down

“Hm, nice one,” Angel mused to himself

Buffy smacked a sword aside, then brought the other end of the scythe around, cracking the demon in the face, before impaling it through the throat. A vampire came up from behind, but Buffy booted the vampire in the chest, before removing the scythe and beheading the vampire, then blocking another demon’s sword and slicing its legs off, before impaling it through the back when it landed. An Old One thundered overhead, as Buffy grabbed a nearby crossbow and shot a vampire in the heart. She screamed as she turned to dust, as Buffy then sliced a demon in half at the stomach, before dodging a troll’s axe and slicing one leg off, then impaling the troll through the face. As it fell off the stake, Buffy cracked a demon in the groin with the stake, before bringing the blade around and splitting its head open

“Ew, gross, brain matter,” Buffy said, before having to dodge an Old One

Willow was sending down blasts of energy at the Old Ones, as a massive bat-like Old One flew at her, slashing with its six-foot-long claws. Willow barrelled-rolled out of the way, before shooting a spearhead of energy, but the Old One shook the attack off and screeched, snapping its jaws. Willow quickly put up a barrier, but the blow still sent her flying towards the ground. She managed to stop herself from hitting the ground, but the Old One grabbed her in its claws and went for the killing blow, only to have Willow set its foot on fire. The Old One screeched, letting her go, as Willow flew back to give herself some space, conjuring up two electric balls of energy, then unleashing bolts of lightning upon the Old One, shocking it. It screeched, as Willow kept up the assault. The Old One finally fell to the ground, as a crossbow bolt struck Willow in the shoulder, bringing her crashing down to the ground, the fall knocking her unconscious. Angel grinned, before tossing the crossbow aside

Dracula removed his sword from a demon’s chest, as an Old One bore down on him. It looked like a cross between a centipede and a crocodile, as it opened its jaws wide, intending to swallow Dracula whole. He could already see blood and body parts from the Slayers the Old One had eaten and he had no intention of being next. Diving out of the way, Dracula then transformed into a bat, holding his sword in his claws as he flew about, avoiding the Old One’s jaws, then transforming back to his normal form and catching his sword as he landed on the Old One’s back. Dracula quickly raced to the Old One’s head and began stabbing it again and again until it finally collapsed and Dracula slid down the snout, leaping off and cutting down a troll, before whirling around and slashing a demon across the chest, then slicing upwards on a vampire, throwing him onto his back

“Fire in the hole!” Riley shouted

Along with several other commandoes, Riley popped the pin on a grenade and threw it. Several grenades landed in a line, before exploding, taking out several demons and injuring two nearby Old Ones. Riley raised his semi-automatic rifle and shooting down a demon with three shots, then turning and firing at a few more demons. Bullets flew past Riley, slamming into demons and vampires, as he ran out and quickly reloaded. However, a demon was upon him before he could finish and he had to drop the rifle, before grabbing the demon by the wrists. The demon snarled, drool dripping from its fangs, as Riley struggled to push it back. In the end, the demon was stronger, grabbing Riley around the throat and began strangling him, but he drew a handgun and pressed it to the demon’s chest, before squeezing the trigger three times. The demon fell down dead, as Riley retrieved his rifle and finished reloading, before taking aim and taking down a demon with a single shot to the head

Spike swung the Vorax, taking down three demons at once, as a Gator came at him. Dodging the claws, Spike impaled the Gator through the stomach, before removing the Vorax and decapitating another demon. A troll growled and swung its fist, knocking Spike back, then swinging its other fist. Spike ducked and sliced it across the stomach, but the troll ignored the wound, kicking Spike in the stomach and knocking him down. Spike was thankful he didn’t have to breathe, as the troll raised both fists over him. Rolling out of the way, Spike quickly got to his feet, before ducking under the troll’s backhand and stabbing the Vorax upwards into the troll’s chest. The troll seized, as Spike removed the Vorax and whirled around, crossing blades with a demon. Pushing the demon’s sword down, Spike punched it in the face, then sliced its stomach open, before booting a vampire in the stomach and spinning around with a slice that beheaded the vampire, reducing it to dust

“This feels like fun,” Spike said

Wesley bashed a vampire across the jaw with the butt of his shotgun, then ejected a stake from his sleeve, before bashing the vampire again and staking him. The vampire turned to dust, as Faith blocked a demon’s sword and slit its throat, as Wesley spun around, blasting a charging demon with his shotgun. Faith dodged a Gator demon’s claws and kicked it in the jaws, before dodging to her right and slicing the Gator across the face. Wesley whirled around, shooting the Gator and killing it, as Faith quickly covered his back, kicking a vampire in the chest. The vampire growled and lunged, but Faith slashed with one dagger, cutting the vampire on the cheek, then kicking him in the face, as Wesley jammed his stake into the vampire’s heart

“Wes, honey!” Faith cried

An Old One snarled, bearing down on the couple, as Wesley took aim with his shotgun and quickly fired off three rounds. The Old One reared back as the shots struck it in the face, giving Wesley time to quickly pump his shotgun, ejecting the spent cartridges and insert a few more. The Old One was quickly over its pain and lunged, swinging its large claws, but Faith and Wesley dived in opposite directions. At that moment, four Slayers joined the fight, attacking with swords and crossbows, as Wesley fired at the Old One, while Faith joined her fellow Slayers, succeeding in bringing the massive pure demon down

“You okay?” Wesley asked his wife

“Five by five,” Faith replied

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